COVID-19 Lockdown: CIPC Issues Notice to Clarify the Ongoing Online Services
The President announced the extension of national lockdown till the end of April with the hope of surviving the pandemic and flattening the curve. Post this news, the governing agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in South Africa, CIPC, stepped forward to the aid of businesses within the country.
In the face of this global crisis, CIPC has committed to relieving the stress of businesses by operating through its fully automated services. However, in its latest notice, CIPC has made some notable amendments from its previous announcement.
To file Annual Returns and other Financial Statements, CIPC has extended the period for two weeks after the national lockdown ends or till CIPC issues another order. The extension is also applied to deferring penalties, compliance checklist, and preparations of annual financial statements as per the norms.
However, the extension is only applicable to companies with the filing period falling during the lockdown period. Companies for which the filing period falls beyond, CIPC mandates a regular filing process.
The CIPC has announced the same extension orders for other services like name reservations, business rescue, company name changes, amongst others.
In the current notice, it also clarified the functional online channel for availing fully automated services alongside a table of non-operating channels to eliminate any ambiguity in communication.
We have tabulated the entire list of fully automated services that are functional during the lockdown period and the platforms on which they are available for the users:-
| Service | Available Channel | Unavailable Channel |
| Annual Returns including Annual Financial Statements or Statements of Financial Accountability Supplement | E-services | Mobile App Self-Service Centres Third-Party Model |
| Short Standard Private Company WITHOUT NAME | BizPortal | Mobile App E-Services Self-Service Centres Third-Party Model Banks |
| Enterprise Search | E-Services, BizPortal
| N/A |
| R30 Disclosure | E-Services | N/A |
| Company and Close Corporation Financial Year End Changes | E-Service
| Third-Party Model Self-Service Centres
|
| Company and Close Corporation Address Changes | E-Services
| Third-Party Model Self-Service Centres
|
| Auditor, Accounting Officer and Company Secretary Changes | E-Services
| Third-Party Model
|
| Company Name Changes | E-Services | Third-Party Model Self-Service Centres
|
| BB-BEE Certificate | E-Services, BizPortal | Third-Party Model Self-Service Centres
|
| Domain Name Registration | E-Services | N/A |
If you are looking for further information on CIPC updates or an in-depth understanding of iXBRL filing, please allow our experts to guide you. In these challenging times of a COVID 19-induced financial slowdown, our entire team has been dedicatedly offering their expert services and consultation to one and all. Reach out to us at enquiry@datatracks.co.za and we’ll connect with you as soon as possible.